Meet Lakeville Select Board Candidate Evagelia ‘Lia’ Fabian

With two terms under her belt, Lakeville Select Board incumbent Evagelia “Lia” Fabian says she isn’t done fighting for what’s important to residents as she seeks reelection.

Living in Lakeville for approximately 33 years now, Fabian found her way to town through her laundromat business that was run out of the Savas Plaza from 1990 to 2015. Graduating in 1988 with degrees in economics and communications, Fabian began her career working for a credit bureau before following in her family’s footsteps and joining the dry cleaning world. 

Inspired by the local government meetings she attended growing up, Fabian said it was only natural for her to run for a town board after a spinal injury forced her to retire. Fabian began her time in government serving on the Board of Assessors in 2015. 

In 2019, Fabian was elected to her first term on the Select Board and less than a year later she found herself as chair staring down the face of a global pandemic. 

Fabian highlighted how at the time, she made the decision not to mandate town workers to get vaccinated — a decision she still stands by as she says there were very few who had not already gotten the vaccine.

She emphasized that she always makes decisions based on what’s best for the community. Like many communities right now, Lakeville is facing a number of financial challenges. 

With not enough commercial properties in town to help pay the bills, Fabian says residents are forced to take on the burden. If reelected, she hopes to further advocate for economic development. 

A hot issue in Lakeville for some time has been the Rocky Woods Development, now known as Simonds Hills. Though the exact number of units is still up in the air, developer Muhammad Itani’s original proposal for the property called for 200 units, including 44 single-family homes, 46 duplex cottages catering to an older demographic and 11 10-unit condominium buildings. At least 50 of the units would be restricted to people with low to moderate incomes.

On the topic, Fabian said the state has been focused heavily on creating as much affordable housing as possible, but she’d rather see more opportunities for traditional single-family homes that young families or seniors looking to downsize could move into. 

However, she said she understands she doesn’t have much of a say in what the developer chooses to do, except when it comes to how it affects Lakeville residents. 

Fabian noted this is key to the role of the Select Board, identifying those effects and addressing them. In the case of the housing development, she said there have been some concerns about a Native American burial ground as well as with the results of the traffic study and she’d like the board to explore those further. 

Another long-time concern for residents has been the fate of the Lakeville hospital property, where Rhino Capital plans to build 190 units of senior living, including memory care and assisted living; 200 units of multi-family housing and 68 units of 55 and older homes on the site. Lakeville residents had previously rejected plans for a warehouse at the location. 

Fabian said her bigger concern with the property is the town’s ability to help secure grant funding for the project, adding she is not comfortable with the town taking ownership — even on a temporary basis — because it could leave them liable. 

Of the accomplishments she’s been a part of since joining the board, some of the ones she’s most proud of include changing the name from Selectmen to Select Board, starting an annual breakfast tradition to honor veterans and finding a way to reuse space in the senior center for a food pantry. 

The pantry’s grand-opening is coming this spring and promises opportunities for residents who qualify to shop with “dignity” and gain their independence back, said Fabian.